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History of the Marvel Universe
The following timeline describes the major events of Earth-616. Only major fictional historical events are listed here. Please note that few exact dates have been given for these events, so approximations are used instead. Note also that a sliding timescale applies to Earth-616, so that events involving its inhabitants can only be determined as having happened a certain number of years before whatever the current date is.In general, most recent sources place (the beginning of the Silver Age of Comic Books, and of the modern Marvel Universe) as having occurred 13 years ago as of Indestructible Hulk #3 (January 2013). Alternately the sliding time scale can be fixed at the millennium if historical events in the 20th and 21st centuries do not take place at the same time they do in the real universe. See Marvel Time and also Marvel Universe Reading Order. Billions of Years Ago The Big Bang (approximately 13.7 Billion years ago, according to current data): Prior to the formation of the current universe, another universe existed which was destroyed when the Dweller-in-Darkness fractured the M'Kraan Crystal, hoping to feast upon the fear that the impending doom would bring to the universe's population. The Phoenix Force, however, reached out to touch every living mind and united them in peace, foiling the Dweller's plan. In spite of this, the destruction of the universe could not be stopped, but the Sentience of the Multiverse selected one being - the last living man in that universe, Galan of Taa - to survive and live on, merging with him at the point of universal collapse. Then, initiated by the Living Tribunal, this cosmic egg exploded in the Big Bang (see Oscillatory universe), forming the current universe, and from the cosmic crucible, Galan emerged as Galactus, a key cosmic being in the existence of the current universe. Other cosmic beings (including a reborn Eternity and Death) came into existence at or shortly after the beginning of the universe. Several intelligent races evolved, but most died out, replaced by new ones as time passed by. Some, however, left behind a single, immortal survivor; these formed a loose brotherhood known as the Elders of the Universe. One race achieved immortality and great power, but after an attempt to help two other civilizations that ended in their mutual destruction, decided not to interfere anymore, but only to record all events in the universe. They became known as The Watchers. Despite their oath, some have been involved in important events, such as the one appointed as Earth's Watcher, Uatu. When life started to evolve on Earth (approx. 3 billion years ago) the Elder Gods were born from the planet's natural magical energies. However, most started devouring each other and devolved into demons. One who avoided this fate, Gaea the earth goddess, summoned the Demiurge, the planet's sentient biosphere, and mated with it, creating Atum, the sun god. Atum set about destroying the Elder Gods, but in doing so, he too became corrupted, and was transformed into the Demogorge, eater of gods. A small number of the Elder Gods, such as Chthon and Set, escaped by banishing themselves to other dimensions, and influenced mankind indirectly later on. Chthon left behind the Darkhold, a set of indestructible parchments (later bound into a book) whose black magic caused much evil through history. Only Gaea remained on Earth, where she would guide the evolution of life. Gaea, under many different guises, later become the mother goddess of Earth's second generation of gods. Demogorge then released the energies he had absorbed, returning to his form as Atum; these energies later led to the birth of the later generation of demons, such as Mephisto. Millions of Years Ago The mysterious cosmic beings known as Celestials began to experiment with the evolution of many intelligent beings across the universe, influencing races such as the Kree and the Skrulls. About one million years ago, the Celestials arrived on Earth and experimented on the ancestors of humanity. This experimentation created two new races, the Eternals and Deviants. The Celestials also used the Earth as a womb or egg to birth a new Celestial. They gave some humans the ability to develop super powers (thus providing the potential for the existence of mutants and other superhumans later on) that would manifest themselves around the time that the Celestial was supposed to be born. They did this with the intent of these superhumans protecting the Earth/egg from damage in order to ensure the Celestials' birth. However, millions of years later the humans, with the help of Reed Richards of the Fantastic Four, discovered this plan and successfully ended it. Around this same time Set had created a new race, the Serpent-Men, to be his agents on Earth. They approached the Celestials, but were rejected for experimentation. The Serpent-Men then became jealous of the humans and vowed themselves enemies of the human race. The Skrulls discovered the Kree and the vegetated race, the Cotati, who shared the same home world, and gave them a test to see which of them were worthy of sharing their technology: whichever race created the better achievement would get it. The Kree created a city in Earth's Moon (in a 'Blue Area' that contained an Earth-like atmosphere and gravity) for this purpose. The Cotati created an ecosystem. The Kree lost the contest, so they killed the Skrull envoys and stole their technology. They abandoned the city, which would later become a base for Uatu. A century later, the Skrulls discovered what the Kree had done, but by that time, they had become a powerful space empire themselves. The two races have hated each other since and have been fighting wars almost constantly. Tens of Thousands of Tears Ago The Eternals underwent a series of civil wars. Some of them went on to colonize the planet Uranus and Saturn's moon, Titan. As a result, they missed being irradiated by an accidental explosion triggered by an experiment which turned all of the Eternals on Earth fully immortal. Their enemies, the Deviants, also developed advanced technology and created new races (such as the Subterraneans) and huge monsters that would lay dormant until modern times. Inhumans The Kree discovered the Eternals and decided to try to create their own superhuman race out of Earth's humans. The result of this experiment would become the race known as the Inhumans. Thurian Age The first powerful human civilization developed in the continent of Atlantis. One of its first notable kings was King Kull, who helped to exterminate the Serpent Men. Later, Atlantis developed a highly technologically advanced civilization. They engaged in a war with the Deviants, who ruled the continent of Lemuria. The Atlanteans used weapons that drew upon their continent's geothermal energies, debilitating its geological foundations. Just prior to the sinking of the two continents, the Darkhold was used to create vampires, the first of which was Varnae. Around the same time, Set's worshipers created the Serpent Crown, a magical artifact of great power that allowed Set to influence its users. Cataclysm When the Celestials returned to Earth, the Deviants tried to attack them, which resulted in the Celestials retaliating with an explosion so powerful it wrought havoc worldwide, sank Lemuria, and caused the unstable Atlantis to sink as well. Some Atlanteans managed to survive; some apparently adapted themselves to life underwater via unknown means; this process turned their skin blue and made them able to only breathe water, not air. These Atlanteans became the first [[Homo mermanus|''Homo mermanus'' or Homo mermani]]. Hyborian Age As a result of the cataclysm caused by the Celestials, technology was lost to the human race for millennia, and they reverted to barbarism. During this period, the Hyborian Age, Conan, a descendant of Kull, became an unintentional champion of humanity, and later became king of the land of Aquilonia. One of the sorcerers of this era, Kulan Gath, eventually manifested in the present, along his enemy, Red Sonja. Most of the civilizations of the time eventually became ancestors to actual historical civilizations, like Egypt. (Note: Marvel no longer has the rights to use Kull, Conan or Sonja, but they haven't been officially erased from the continuity; they are just no longer cited by name. Gath, being a character created by Marvel, can still be used.) Thousands of Years Ago The second generation of gods appeared before mankind and were worshiped by pagan civilizations. Most of the legends involving them are true in the Marvel Universe, though not exactly in the form recorded in mythology. Similarly, the second generation of demons began to prey on humanity. Some pretended to be legendary infernal beings such as Satan. Ancient Egypt The man who would become Kang the Conqueror traveled back in time to ancient Egypt. He took control of Egypt and ruled as "Pharaoh Rama-Tut" until deposed by the time traveling Fantastic Four. The West Coast Avengers and Doctor Strange were also present via time travel, and they influenced the course of the Fantastic Four's battle with Rama-Tut in their fellow heroes' favor. The immortal Mutant; En Sabah Nur, who would later become known as Apocalypse, was also present; he had been a slave in Rama-Tut's court, but was freed when his powers manifested themselves. At the time, he was unsuccessfully attempting to woo a member of the royal family named Nephra; when she rejected him, he in turn rejected humanity. Ancient Greece 7th century BC - Ancient Greece dawned. This civilization brought forth great minds, like Socrates and Plato. King Philip II united the Greek states, and his son, Alexander the Great, extended the great culture to other states. At least a thousand years ago, the Celestials returned to Earth and forced the gods to stop intervening in the development of human civilization. Roman Empire In 625 BC., the city of Rome was founded and expanded to form the Roman Empire. In 476 A.D., the last Roman Emperor, Romulus Augustus, was defeated by the German Goth Odoacer. This is the start of the Dark Ages in Europe. 6th Century After the fall of the Roman Empire in 476 A.D. a time of chaos began known as Dark Ages in Europe. The last Emperor of Rome, Romulus Augustus, was defeated by the German Goth Odoacer, he however did not die but escaped to Britain. In Britain; the wizard Merlin helped King Arthur to establish the kingdom of Camelot, and mentored the Black Knight (Sir Percy of Scandia) to oppose the evil influence of Arthur's illegitimate son, the knight Mordred. In the end, Mordred and Morgan le Fay brought down Camelot, but were killed themselves in the process. (All of these people would later manifest, in various ways, in the present.) Iron Man and Doctor Doom were present at that time, following a battle and the treason of an employee of Doom. Iron Man allied himself with Arthur, and Doom with Morgan, but the two time travelers were eventually forced to work together to return to the present. At some point prior to the fall of Camelot, Modred the Mystic (no relation to Mordred) was approached by Merlin (or an impostor) to study magic in Camelot. Modred was instead corrupted by the power of the Darkhold, and would lose his soul and his love but would gain near-immortality and a mastery of magic. He would battle Chthon and the Darkholders through the modern day, but would bear a deadly vendetta against Merlin and his allies. Merlyn wanted to Tommy Tyme a lesson about magic, the wizard tripped the boy, activating his Clock of the Ages and sending him back in time to England in the 6th century. There Tommy assisted Merlin in rescuing the captured King Arthur from the evil Black Knight. When Tommy returned to his own time he had learned a greater appreciation and belief in magic. Big Mother and her son, Grendel, once terrorized the marshlands surrounding Heorot Hall in Scandinavia in the 6th century AD. Beowolf came to the aid of the Danish King Hrothgar, whose hall was raided each night by the hideous man-eating monster Grendel. Beowulf slayed Grendel, then Grendel's angry mother, and ruled as king of the Geats until he himself was slain in battle with a dragon. Beowulf was however absent when the land of the Geats was invaded by the Klyntar believing it to be the return of Grendel; however, Thor the God of Thunder arrived to save his people. In the 6th Century Sersi also assisted Merlin. 7th Century The Tang Dynasty began to rule China. This was regarded as a cultural high point in the Chinese civilization. It was during this time a group of extraterrestrials known as the Makluans landed in the area and were able to hide on Earth. One of them Fin Fang Foom was however sent into hibernation Their technology later fell into the hands of the Mandarin. 8th Century In 750 A.D. Baghdad, Jabir ibn Hayyan, then-leader of the Brotherhood of the Shield, conceived of a way to keep the world from ever ending. He built a machine that would take the sum total of the hopes, dreams, inspirations and desires of a thousand men a give it to a single man. This man could then recreate the world whenever it was threatened. The machine, however, drained the men of their lifeforces and the machine failed. Without a thousand of the Brotherhood of the Shield around to shape the world, Man fell into an age of darkness. Fin Fang Foom was somehow briefly awakened in the 8th Century, and returned to sleep through a second application of the herb. He consequently entered into Chinese legend -- whose name, roughly translated, means "He Whose Limbs Shatter Mountains and Whose Back Scrapes the Sun". A group of humans were placed as guards outside his tomb, passing the job on to their descendants. The surrounding region became known as the Valley of the Sleeping Dragon. 9th Century In 893 A.D, on the western coast of Iceland in the village of Kolkumyrar was attacked by a group of Frost Giants . The villages prayed for help and Thor came to their rescue slaughtering the Jotuns. The villages celebrated with Thor until they found a body wash up in the stream revealing it to be an Asgardian. Thor decides to return to the celebration as the villages collected wood for a funeral pyre to burn the body. After the celebration Thor was woken from his slumber by a mysterious voice, but finds nothing. He would regularly return to the village to live among the people as he respected them due to ability to live through such hardship. In 896 A.D., Norway; Bodolf became a great warrior by praying to Thor before every single one of his battles, with the God of Thunder usually appearing in the flesh to help him fall his enemies. But over time he became cocky and forgot to pray.With his army routed, his lands seized, and his wealth gone, Bodolf resorted to praying once again, but to a different god, Loki. Loki eventually appeared before Bodolf and directed him in a quest for power to rival Thor. Bodolf embarked in a journey to kill a dragon and drink its fiery blood. He drank his blood becoming a monster. With his newfound power, he battled Thor. After a furious battle that took them across the globe, both warriors returned to Norway. When Loki began to cheer for Bodolf, the viking soon attacked the god, unwilling to be a puppet. Thor caught a second wind and punched Godolf through the Earth to the southern pole of the planet. The defeated viking proceeded to wander the Earth, fighting to suppress the monster inside him. In 9th Century A.D., Spain was the home to Esteban De Ablo who studied alchemy before relocating to Transylvania . 10th Century In 987 A.D., seven members of a druid cult made a deal with Mephisto in exchange for immortality, they agreed to funnel souls into his realm. Over the subsequent millennium, the mages acquired great wealth became the board members a London-based corporation named Mys-Tech. To pay their debt to Mephisto, the Mys-Tech board plotted to take over the world and kill vast numbers of innocents. 11th Century In 1003 AD, the coastal village of Lakstad, Norway was wiped from the map when Harald Jaekelsson and his crew murdered the entire population of the town. In 1013 A.D., Apocalypse came to Scandinavia to kill Thoron the counsel of Rama-Tut who informed him of beings and ancestors of people who would cause a threat to him in the future. He then sent his four Four Horsemen (Pestilence/Phantom Bats of the Twelve Minds, War, Native-American Famine, Death) to kill Folkbern Logan was the last Pagan in the city of London, England and poked fun at his friend because he isn't getting any from his fiancee, due to them being Catholic. The two bickered but were attacked by the Horsemen. Folkbern was saved by Thor, who killed the Horsemen using his axe Jarnbjorn. 12th Century Around the beginning of the 12th century, Garbha-Hsien found the Celestial Ship. In 1145, A.D.; The demon God Chthon committed most of his evil spells to documents called the Darkhold scrolls. An evil monk named Aelfric eventually gathered them together but he was burned at the stake. The Catholic church came into possession of the scrolls. Paolo Montesi was a monk who was the curator of the Darkhold scrolls and was tasked with translating them. Paolo learned of something called the Malachy Prophecy which told of the tenure of each pope for nearly the next thousand years.Paolo gave this information to Pope Eugene III. The Pope declared that the scrolls and everything related to the Darkhold would be compiled into one book of which Paolo and his family would be entrusted. The Pope allowed Paolo a special dispensation to marry so Paolo's descendants would safe guard the book. Paolo was killed by the first vampire Varnae who had hoped to keep the church from using the book to wipe out all Vampires. Paolo's infant son Giacomo was born soon after and for 8 centuries the Montesi family dedicated themselves to destroying vampires. Bridget O'Hare was born in 12th-century Ireland. She grew into a wild, hot-tempered, and lusty teenager who loved dancing. She also mastered the skill of sailing and loved the sea. Her passionate nature and fun-loving tendencies tend to serve as a mask for another part of her persona; she has insecurities which she keeps to herself, such as an apparent fear of men. When she was 17-years-old, Bridget was chosen by the deities as a member of their sample of humanity. Garbha-Hsien first met met En Sabah Nur in the Ho-Lo Shan Mountains of Northern Mongolia in the middle of the 12th century, and claimed to have lived already several lifetimes. During the Third Crusade, Bennet du Paris encountered in Akkaba the mutants Sahreed and The Scarab, before manifesting his own powers. Offered him to be become his servant, Apocalypse locked the knight he had renamed Exodus for centuries. Around 1191 AD, during the Third Crusade, King Richard the Lion-Hearted of England was active in the region along with his supporter Crusader, and the traitorous knight Guy de Montfort, where they clashed repeatedly with the forces of the Saladin of Egypt . In the 12th Century; a man named Robin Hood was reported to exist There is conflicting evidence as to the true identity of the man known as Robin Hood. According to one legend, he was one of the many beings since the fall of Camelot to be endowed with the Pendragon Spirit In one instance, the 1940s time traveler Tommy Tyme ended up in Robin Hoods era. According to this account Tommy showed Robin Hood and his Merry Men who to make sling-shots, suggested that they wear green to better disguised themselves in the forest, and helped Robin Hood win an archery contest before returning to his own time . In the 12th Century; the Asgardian known as Fandral was being chased by a Storm Giant through a forest in Asgard when he fell through a portal. He landed on Midgard in England in an area known as Nottingham. He took down a group of soldiers who were harassing the locals for taxes. It was then that he met a woman named Marian. It was love at first site and she told him of the local governor who was stealing from the poor. He helped where he could robbing the rich to give to the poor. Over time he formed a band of Merry Men to help him. Working together he took down the governor and the false king as the true king returned to the throne. He married Marian and they settled in a home not far from Nottingham. However due to her mortal nature she aged and died while Fandral remained unchanged. After her death he returned to Asgard through a portal. It remained unclear if he truly was the inspiration for the legend of Robin Hood. When the Avengers were scattered throughout time, Hawkeye and Iron Man were in Sherwood in the 12th Century without their memories playing Robin Hood and an armed Knight. Hulk found them and took on Iron Man and Captain America took on Hawkeye. 13th Century In 1211 A.D., during a period when China was being invaded by Genghis Khan, China was visited by 20th Century time traveler Tommy Tyme. Tommy prevented Khan from obtaining the Crown of Confucius, which would have made the warlord the undisputed ruler of China. Als in 1211 A.D. Using the Time Platform, Doctor traveled back in time and became involved in a romantic relationship with Morgan le Fay in exchange for her tutelage in the mystic arts. This arrangement was interrupted when the Mighty Avengers came to Latveria to arrest Doctor Doom for crimes against humanity. During the battle, Doom, Iron Man, and the Sentry, stumbled through an open time travel portal, trapping Doctor Doom and his opponents in the past. Doctor Doom and Iron Man managed to return all three to the present, where the Sentry subdued Doctor Doom. In 1245 A.D. the powerful magician Khor the Black Sorcerer was living in France . However Khor was banished by his peers and found himself exiled to the Savage Land, where he lived for centuries. During an unspecified period during the days in which French monarchs decapitated their opponents by the guillotine, the Robe of Evil was possessed by De Signy, who was eventually executed. 14th Century According to 20th century scientist Emil Natas, he lived a past life as the wizard Diablo Natas in the year 1313 AD. He terrorized the countryside until he was stopped by Captain Amerigo and Bucky, the apparently the 20th century heroes Captain America and Bucky in past lives as well. In the 14th century, the Changelings, Satan's hellspawn, were believed to take the place of human babies. Black Plague Dafydd ap Andras was born in a small village south of Wales. Dafydd's mother died in childbirth, and he began to manifest powers at birth. In 1347, many of the townspeople blamed him for failed crops, plagues and called him a demon. Wanting to end the plague effecting the village, the townspeople demanded to sacrifice him. When Dafydd's father, Andras Tryp, refused to give in to the townspeople's demands, they set fire to their home, killing Andras and nearly killing Dafydd who saved himself by teleporting away from the home with help from his older self. In Crimea, the Proto-Mutants who lived as a tribe apart from the local humans were immune to the Black Plague. As the humans spotted that immunity, their fear and anger grew. They captured and killed Proto-Mutant Ister's sister, possibly drinking her blood, seeking for a cure. The Proto-Mutants retreated further into the hills but were slaughtered by the humans and buried in a mass grave near Kuryk, Kazakhstan, off the Caspian Sea. 15th Century In 1459, A.D. in Romania, the Horseman of War led Apocalypse's Riders of the Dark against Vlad Dracula's army. The Transylvanian prince Vlad Tepes, better known as Dracula, was mortally wounded in battle with the legions of the Turkish warlord Turac. Turac hoped to heal Dracula and set him up as a puppet ruler, so he brought him to the gypsy healer Lianda. Lianda was actually a vampire in the service of Varnae; she transformed Dracula into a vampire, but was killed. Turac killed Dracula's wife Maria, prompting Dracula to fully embrace his vampiric power. Dracula bit Turac and ordered the warlord to return to Turkey to kill his own family, then killed Varnae's servant Nimrod for the title of "Lord of the Vampires". Dracula was then forced to drink Varnae's life's blood, giving him the ancient vampire's full power. Dracula later waged a bloody war against the gypsies as revenge for Lianda's actions. One of those who he killed was the son of the witch Gretchen, who was, unknown to Dracula, caring for Dracula's exiled daughter Lilith. Gretchen cursed Lilith to become a vampire who would hunt Dracula until he was destroyed forever. From the 15th Century the Catholic Church was heavily influenced by the Borgia Family who became prominent in ecclesiastical and political affairs. The family producing two popes; Pope Callixtus III, and Pope Alexander VI.One of the worst of the family was Lucrezia Borgia. In 1480, A.D., and in the town of Zeulniz (south of what we know as Leipzig, Germany), Harbin Zemo, the Granary charge man and ministerialis of Zeulniz, stood alone and slaughtered an invading horde of Slav raiders with an armor he borrowed from others. Impressed with his courage, the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire chose to elevate this town administrator who was little more than a peasant himself to the status of Baron of Zeulniz and the outer lying areas. Harbin was hailed as a hero by the townsfolk. Harbin vowed that whenever good men and women were threatened he and his kin would be there to serve the cause of justice. However, as the years passed Harbin was corrupted by the power he now had over the townspeople and the responsibilities that came with it. He became cruel to the serfs who worked his land and would kill those who did not show him the reverence he felt he deserved as their hero. Hademar Zemo was the second Baron in the Zemo Barony. Hademar was greedy and eagerly awaited his father's, Harbin's, death so he could become the next Baron. Soon after Harbin's death, Hademar's twelve-year old son Heller Zemo started a coup and had Hademar slain by his guards at his inauguration. In 1492, A.D., mutant Gideon accompanied Christopher Columbus on his historic expedition that led to the discovery of Americas. . 16th Century In the 16th century, Heller, was the fourth Baron Zemo and expanded Zemo Keep's control of trade and commerce with his armies. He nearly incited a holy war with the papacy. In 1556, A.D., Heller Zemo fought alongside Helmut Zemo, his time-displaced distant descendant. Herbert was eventually assassinated by his own generals, who feared the reprisals of all the enemies who had united against him. Because his two eldest sons died young, he was succeeded by his youngest son, Helmuth.Who was a ruthless ruler who destroyed everyone who disagreed with him or opposed him. Galileo later battled the devourer of worlds Galactus. Leonardo da Vinci was also a prominent member inventing mysterious device which allows him to travel off in an ornithopter. One of the longest reigning leaders of the group was Sir Isaac Newton, who kept his position by murdering Galileo and many others across the centuries. He also tortured Nostradamus to learn future events. Alongside his assistants Lorenzo and Pietro, Leonardo da Vinci observed a dark spot growing on the sun and constructed a suit capable of flight. After donning the suit, he left the duo, presumably to deal with the dark spot. In 1568, A.D. Sir Francis Drake lead expedition to the Caribbean the ships surgeon was injured by the natives becoming the immortal creature known as Bloodscream. In 1591, A.D., the first English colony was settled on Roanoke Island. It did not survive as it was attacked by a Vampire who turned all the 121 settlers into vampires leaving only one message carved into a tree "Croatoan". 17th Century In 1620 A.D., the Pilgrims a group of English settlers who were fleeing the volatile political environment in England travelled aboard the Mayflower, from Plymouth to the New World.At least one member of the Clan Akkaba was on board the ship. Another Pilgrim ship the Pandora was across the Atlantic Ocean to restart in the New World. One day their ship was swept in a whirlpool that was also a portal into the Negative Zone. They have spent the centuries fighting Annihilus whom they view as the literal Biblical Devil. In the 1600s', New Amsterdam was settled by Dutch immigrants. These immigrants were greeted by time traveler Wolf Turber a robot from the future of Earth-TRN215 who sought to conquer the Earth. He attempted to subvert the Dutch immigrants in 1649 to his cause, but they saw through his duplicity and chased him away The province would remain a Dutch possession until 1674 when it came under control of the English and renamed New York named for the Duke of York, later King James II of England. In 1640, A.D., he was assassinated with a dagger by the time-displaced Helmut Zemo, his distant descendant. Hackett Zemo tried to have time traveling Helmut Zemo killed out of revenge for killing his father. In 1649, A.D. Oliver Cromwell led the English Army into Ireland forcing them under British rule. This lasted all the way until the 20th Century. The Clan Akkaba settled in London using the growing empire to influence the world had the mission of safeguarding the legacies and mantras of their lord and ancestor. They even had a member aboard the Mayflower's voyage to the New World. Hilliard Zemo asa a young man, Hilliard was in love with a jewish girl named Elsbeth Kleinenshvitz. Elsbeth's family had been merchants who served the Barony since its inception. When Hilliard's father, Hartwig, died the Barony passed to him. Hilliard's advisors feared the Kleinenshvitz family was growing too wealthy and too powerful and were a threat to the Barony. Hilliard urged Elsbeth to flee the country, but she refused. Hilliard's men slaughtered the Kleinenshvitz family save for a pregnant Elsbeth who was saved by a time traveling Helmut Zemo.Hilliard never knew that Elsbeth survived and had his child. Their unnamed child was the ancestor of a woman named Miss Klein who was killed by Wendell Volker in the present. Hilliard later married an Austrian girl named Gretchen and fathered Hoffman. Dracula traveled to the New World, where he was drawn to a girl in Salem, Massachusetts. When the girl was killed by a jealous Puritan, Dracula used hypnosis on the slave Tituba, initiating the chain of events that would lead to the Salem witch trials. Several heroes from the modern day, including Spider-Man, were transported to the time of the trials by the time-traveling Dark Rider, but were unable to stop the Dark Rider in time to attempt to prevent the hanging of the trials' victims. 18th Century Using the Time platform Doctor Doom sent the Fantastic Four back the the 18th Century to recover Blackbeard's chest. As they adventured on the hire seas looking for Blackbeard they find a ship that contains a chest. While hauling a treasure chest out of the hold, the crew hailed Ben as "Blackbeard". Reed emptied the chest, reminding Johnny that they only promised to bring back Blackbeard's chest, not the treasure itself, and he replaces the treasure with chains. On deck, they realized that Ben is the Blackbeard of legend. He refused to return with them, ordering the crew to douse Johnny, wrap Reed in a sail, and set them adrift in a lifeboat. Before they can launch the boat, though, a huge waterspout struck the ship and destroyed it. Reed and Johnny made it to shore, where they find Ben and the chest. The time platform appeared and they returned home. Events occurred that inspired Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein, although the Earth-616's version of Frankenstein's Monster is a generally heroic rather than the somewhat amoral character of the novel. The Hellfire Club began in London as a social club for the wealthy British social elite in the 1760's as a way to provide its members with pleasures that often defied the moral standards of the time and to allow members to consolidate their influence over British economic and political matters. Fiona married in 1707 and had three daughters. Her husband died five years later, and she soon remarried to another man and had three other daughters before he died in 1718. She remarried in 1720 to a third and had a seventh daughter. Ogun, believed to be a mutant, was, according to some reports, alive in the early part of the 17th century. In 1754, A.D. Hartwig Zemo battled during the 7 Years War and was killed during the conflict. Hartwig pledged his army to the service of the Imperial Diet. More of his men were killed in the war than any other noblemen's armies in Germany. In 1780 A.D., Fiona Knoblach had around twenty grandchildren and sixty great-grandchildren, mostly girls. Elias Bogan was rumored to be alive in the 1780's. The Clan Akkaba were active in France during the French Revolution. ; American Revolutionary War began and they lost the 13 colonies that formed their own independent nation, the United States of America. They became an independent nation in 1776 A.D. In 1774 A.D., religious scholar; Alessandro Di Cagliostro was searching for the secret of immortality. Cagliostro learned the location of the 'Book of Sins', the Darkhold. The Lord of Vampires, Dracula, was then the latest owner. Cagliostro managed to steal the book from the gypsy who the had been sent to the Vatican by Dracula, and earned the vampire's enmity. From the Darkhold, Cagliostro learned the secrets that would enable him to make an elixir of immortality, but needed exotic components unavailable to him. In 1782 A.D. , Tiresias crashed at Mozart's place during the time "Die Entführung aus dem Serail" had just opened with rave review. She enjoyed his many parties. In 1789 A.D., the Vatican ordered the arrest of Alessandro Di Cagliostro on the grounds that Freemasonry was a heresy, and he was imprisoned in the Castle of San Leo near Montefeltro. He was reputed to have died in 1795 in a cell in Italy's papal states, but in reality Cagliostro had at some point left to continue his unending quest for occult power. In the late 18th century Jonas Graymalkin was born. At the age of sixteen, he realized he was gay. Meeting another boy in his family's barn one day, he was discovered by his father, a religious man, who believed his son to be an abomination, a spawn of the devil. Beating Jonas nearly to death, his father then sought to bury him alive in the nearby woods. This burial triggered his mutant powers, allowing him to survive some 200 years underground before being unearthed in the modern era. 19th Century Jebediah Fate betrayed his captain, Maura Hawke, to the Satyr Khordes, offering her as a prisoner in exchange for treasure. When Hawke stabbed Khordes, the Satyr used his magic to curse Hawke and her crew. The curse was lifted when Hawke's reincarnation, Maura Spinner, decided to willingly stay with the resurrected Khordes Napoleonic Wars The Empire went to war with France beginning the Napoleonic Wars in 1803. Britain defeated Napoléon Bonaparte and his armies at Waterloo in 1815, and took many of their colonies in the process. It was during this time that the White House was burnt down during the War of 1812, which was a conflict between the USA and the British Empire. Ichisumi first activated in 1833 in Kumamoto, Japan. She was collected by Apocalypse and "stored" for later use as the Famine of his Final Horsemen. In the 1840's captain Ahab of the Pequod battled a giant whale like creature. The resulting clash was fictionalized into the literary classic, Moby Dick. Wild West Many adventurers and criminals were active in North America's "Wild West", some of whom used costumed identities, such as the Two-Gun Kid, the original Ghost Rider (later renamed the Phantom Rider and succeeded by three other men), Kid Colt, the Outlaw Kid, the Apache Kid, and the Red Wolf. Other non-masked gunfighters of the era included the Rawhide Kid, the Gunhawks, the unrelated Gunhawk, and Caleb Hammer. All of these gunslingers, save for the Rawhide Kid, the Red Wolf, and the Gunhawk Reno Jones are known to have been murdered or killed in battle by the century's end. Most of them died in a blaze of glory in 1885, defending the town of Wonderment, Montana from the land-grabbing Nightriders. That said, the Two-Gun Kid is known to have used time travel to visit the present from a time before his death on at least two separate occasions; on the first such occasion, he joined the super-heroic Avengers. The ghost of Carter Slade (one of the last Phantom Riders) would later possess his modern-day ancestor, Lincoln Slade, who became the Phantom Rider. American Civil War The mutant Jeb Lee was collected by Apocalypse and "stored" for later use as the Pestilence of his Final Horsemen. The mutant Tobias Messenger was active in the 19th century. In 1859 A.D., Dr. Nathaniel Essex presented his work and theories on the Essex Factor, illustrated by a cadaver he pieced together from human and animal remains. He was rejected by the Royal Society of London. He then looked for "freaks" and was shown a collection of some of them by the Marauders Essex later met with Apocalypse and time-travelling Cyclops and Phoenix. In 1860 A.D., the British and the French allied together to fight the Chinese during the the Second Opium War. They faced the Iron Fist at the Forts of Taku. Although a great warrior, the army lost and were taken prisoner and forced into hard labor, and then the power of the Iron Fist left him. Baron Hobart Zemo was the tenth Baron in the Zemo family lineage. Hobart was killed during a civilian uprising in 1879. After attempts were made on the life of the German emperor, William I, the previous year, there was legislation passed that outlawed the social democratic party which led to the uprising. Hobart's great-grandson from the future, Helmut Zemo, had tried to save his life, but went back in time before being able to do so. In 1882 A.D., James Howlett was born in Cold Lake, Alberta, Canada. In 1890 A.D., the events that inspired Bram Stoker's novel Dracula occurred, although Dracula survived the conclusion by transforming into mist when stabbed by Abraham van Helsing and his vampire hunters. In 1897 A.D., when Vampires began plaguing London, the Clan Akkaba awoke Apocalypse to help destroy them. After he would remain suspended animation until the modern era, and Dracula was staked by Abraham van Helsing. Dracula was revived by none other than the Frankenstein's monster, and after the two fought, Dracula returned to and killed van Helsing. Van Helsing was survived by at least one child, and his granddaughter Rachel would fight Dracula in the modern era. 20th Century Tunguska Event On the morning of the 30th June 1908 a mysterious explosion over Tunguska in the sparsely populated Eastern Siberian Taiga flattened 2,000 km2 (770 sq mi) of forest it caused no known casualties among humans. World War I The first group of costumed heroes of this century were the Freedom's Five, a group of international heroes who gathered to fight the Germans during World War I. One of their number was the first hero to be called Union Jack; his brother was the German agent called Baron Blood, who had been transformed into a vampire by Dracula. Another member of the Five was the Phantom Eagle, whose ghost would be laid to rest in the modern era with the assistance of Johnny Blaze, the Ghost Rider. Jack Fury, father of Nick Fury, fought the Red Baron during the Great War. World War II Several costumed characters appeared in America before the United States entered World War II. The first was the Atlantean half-breed prince Namor the Sub-Mariner, whose dual surface-dweller and Atlantean heritage granted him superhuman strength and flight, and allowed him to breathe both air and water. However, this same heritage made him both a savior and enemy of mankind. Though often portrayed as a hero, he also waged several wars on Earth's above water populations. It was later discovered that Namor needed to have a specific amount of time under water in order to not go temporarily insane. The second costumed character to arrive prior to WWII was the android Human Torch. These two heroes came into conflict with each other, but later became steadfast allies in the face of the Axis threat. Other heroes of this time included Red Raven, the original Ka-Zar, the Patriot (Jeff Mace), and the Hurricane (actually the Eternal Makkari). The US Government secretly developed a project to create super soldiers to fight in the war, but it was sabotaged by a Nazi agent and the full formula was lost. An early prototype was used on a platoon of African American soldiers, all but one of whom (Isaiah Bradley) died. Only one soldier, Steve Rogers, was given the full super soldier treatment. Rogers was given the secret identity of Captain America to be a morale-boosting symbol. He would become one of the world's most influential heroes. Meanwhile, Isaiah Bradley was rendered brain-damaged following a near-fatal escape from a Nazi concentration camp after an apparent suicide mission, and Rogers would not learn of his existence for decades. When America entered the war, Winston Churchill himself arranged for several heroes to form a team called The Invaders, to perform missions against the Axis Powers and their super agents. Several costumed villains had important roles among the Nazis. These include the Red Skull, Baron Zemo, Baron Strucker, Arnim Zola, Agent Axis, Master Man, and others. Most of them survived the war to plague the heroes of the modern era. In 1945, shortly before the Allies captured Berlin, the Red Skull was accidentally placed in a state of suspended animation, and in a separate incident Captain America was frozen in ice and his teenage sidekick Bucky was seemingly killed. Both men were soon secretly replaced by the US government to avoid lowering morale among the Allies. Soon after, the Allies advanced to Berlin, and the Invaders broke into Hitler's bunker. Although history would record it as suicide, Hitler was actually killed in self-defense by the Human Torch. Not long after the war ended, the first replacement Captain America was killed in action and was replaced by a post-war Captain America. The original Captain America and the Red Skull would both be revived in the modern era. Post-World War II A young man who would later assume the identity of Erik Lehnsherr was interned in the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp alongside his future wife Magda. The pair escaped, married, and had a daughter, Anya. When Anya was killed in an arson attack on their home, Erik used his mutant powers to kill the attackers, frightening away Magda, who was actually pregnant with twins at the time. The twins were born in the "1950s" on Mount Wundagore, and were placed into suspended animation for several decades by the High Evolutionary. They would eventually be given to the Transian gypsy Django Maximoff, who would raise them as his own. Erik would later become the super-villain called Magneto, and his children would become Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch. Neither Magneto nor his children would learn of this relationship until the modern era. After the war, most of the Invaders remained active as a group called the All-Winners Squad, though they eventually disbanded and, with Citizen V and several of their allies in the Liberty Legion, formed the core of the new V-Battalion. The Human Torch was rendered inert for decades after the "1950s", and the Sub-Mariner was rendered an amnesiac following the destruction of much of Atlantis by the Set-controlled mesmerist Paul Destine ("Destiny"). During the "mid-1950s", a new Captain America and Bucky appeared. These men were devoted anti-Communists who took the real names of their namesakes as their own. They fought a new Soviet-sponsored Red Skull and various other threats from beyond the Iron Curtain. The experimental super-soldier process that had created them made them mentally unstable, so they were placed in suspended animation until the modern day, where they were revived by the original Captain America. This Captain America would later become the Grand Director of the Secret Empire, while this Bucky would recover and become the superhero Nomad. Several new heroes were active during the "1950s", including Marvel Boy, the 3-D Man, and the goddess Venus. In an alternate reality, some of them formed a short-lived team known as "The Avengers". This reality was wiped out by Immortus before it progressed into the 1960s. That particular grouping may have also existed in the main Marvel Universe, but if so, they were never called "The Avengers". Vietnam War There was also a team of heroes active some time after World War 2 until 1985, known as the First Line, but their existence was mainly kept secret from the general public. Most of them died battling Skrulls. Another team active during this period was the Monster Hunters, who battled monsters of alien and Deviant origins across the globe. However, their exploits are not well known today because a conspiracy called CONTROL tried to keep the existence of aliens and the supernatural from the general public, and succeeded for many years. During the Cold War, a joint US/Canadian task force that was later code-named "Team X" was formed. This group of spies and assassins included the men who would become Wolverine, Sabretooth, Maverick, and others. Subsequently, the Weapon Plus Project, which had supported the creation of the Super Soldier Project that had created Captain America, started a new iteration of its Weapon program. The Tenth Weapon program (Weapon X) resulted in the implantation of adamantium in Wolverine's body and the creation of many false memories in him and the other Team X/Weapon X agents. About ten years prior to the modern era, six couples were teleported to the lair of the demonic Gibborim, who offered six of the twelve a chance to gain power and immortality should all twelve assist the Gibborim in destroying humanity in the future. All agreed, and became The Pride. When one of the couples discovered that they were pregnant, the other couples decided to follow suit and have one child apiece, with each couple granting their eventual power and immortality to their sole offspring. In the modern era, these children would rebel against their parents and become the Runaways. Modern Heroic Era This started officially with the public debut of the Fantastic Four. Spider-Man, The Hulk, Thor, Iron Man, Daredevil and the X-Men soon followed. Some of these heroes joined to form the Avengers. These would become Earth's Mightiest Heroes. Some of the heroes from earlier history were revived as well. While hiding from the rest of the Fantastic Four due to an argument, the modern-day Human Torch found Namor suffering from amnesia at the Bowery district of Manhattan, and helps him regain his memory by throwing him into a lake. Later, after a fight with Namor and the Hulk, the Avengers would find the original Captain America, who had been frozen in an iceberg for many decades and kept alive thanks to the Super-Soldier Serum in his veins. After thawing out, he accepted joining the team. Many events would go on to occur from here on. For a list of several of the most important events that happened in a period of about 14 years until "today", see Major Events of the Marvel Universe. To see most of the original events in their supposed chronological order, see Marvel Universe Reading Order Death of the Universe In the aftermath of the war between the Avengers and the X-Men, the secret group known as the Illuminati reconvened to deal with a pan-universal threat, the incursions. The incursions are a consequence of a contraction in the Multiverse's timeline, originating from an event in another universe (later revealed to have been the death of a Molecule Man ) which caused the premature death of said reality. This contraction caused universes throughout the Multiverse to collide, with each universe's respective Earth as the point of impact. After an incursion, two different universes' Earths clash, causing the death of both universes and shortening the Multiverse's lifespan. The only way for the universes to survive an incursion was to destroy one of the Earths, thereby saving both universes and one Earth. Apparently, the universe with the destroyed Earth survived until its natural end, but for the other universe, the only way was to either continue to destroy other Earths or destroy its own Earth, thus stopping the incursions. In the beginning, the Illuminati managed to avoid commiting the horrible act of destroying another reality's inhabited planet Earth due to different factors. In some cases, the incursive Earth was destroyed by beings of its own universe, in another instance, the Illuminati used the Infinity Gauntlet to push the realities apart (though this course of action caused the destruction of the Infinity Gems). As time went by, and other realities were destroyed, the time lapse between incursions started to decrease. A group of murderous villains known as the Cabal took upon themselves the duty to destroy other incursive Earths, doing what the Illuminati ended up being unwilling to do. The Cabal made public to the world the existence of the incursions, and gained the UN's sanction to continue defending the planet. Meanwhile, the Illuminati were on the run from S.H.I.E.L.D., bent on bringing them to justice. While on the run, the Illuminati repeatedly attempted to find a way to solve the problem of incursions, from trying to create a new Earth with a Cosmic Cube and then with Franklin Richards' powers, to asking the Celestials and Galactus for help, but all these plans failed. Time ran out and Earth-616 ended up being one of the last two remaining realities. With no way to prevent the destruction of all of reality, the Illuminati and S.H.I.E.L.D. began working together after reaching a middle ground. They created a life raft that could survive the destruction of the universe, in order to allow men and women to rebuilt humanity in whathever was left after everything ended. The final incursion drew near, a collision against Earth-1610, and both realities collided and were destroyed. The gathering of the people selected to join the life raft had failed, and only a handful of people managed to get onboard, including Mr. Fantastic and Black Panther. Rebirth of the Universe Some time before the Multiverse was no more, Doctor Doom had investigated this phenomenon, and confronted those partially responsible for this, the Beyonders. Using the power of the Molecule Men from different realities, Doom destroyed the Beyonders and stole their power. With the power of the Beyonders, Doom salvaged the remnants of different realities and built Battleworld, a patchwork planet composed of these remains and its inhabitants. The raft containing the survivors of Earth-616 found its way into Battleworld, and the survivors set out to defeat God Emperor Doom. In the end, Reed Richards acquired the power that was Doom's, and began to use the omnipotent power of the Beyonders to rebuild the Multiverse, starting with his own universe, Earth-616. References Category:History